The subject of workers’ compensation is an expansive topic that we will tackle in a series of blogs. Part I will cover who is covered, and future articles will tackle wages, audits, and more. Workers’ compensation insurance is a requirement for just about every business operating in the U.S. There are few exceptions, which are determined at the state level; for example, Florida, where the requirement is four or more employees, including business owners who are corporate officers or Limited Liability Company (LLC) members, in a non-construction industry business. For a construction industry business operating in Florida, you only need…
Posts published in “Insurance”
The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) of 1985 gives workers, and their families who lose their health benefits, the right to choose continued group health benefits provided by their group health plan for a limited period of time under certain circumstances such as voluntary or involuntary job loss, reduction in the hours worked, transition between jobs, death, divorce and other life events. Qualified individuals may be required to pay the entire premium for coverage up to 102% of the cost to the plan. The law generally applies to all group health plans maintained by private-sector employers with 20 or…
While I do not necessarily write about benefits for individuals, this one happens to affect the employer, or should I say, their previous employer, which could be you. The ARP Act allows involuntarily terminated employees under Subtitle F – Preserving Health Benefits For Workers to receive premium assistance on their COBRA. The premium assistance is in the form of 100% paid for health insurance for the separated employee and their dependents for the coverage period beginning April 1 to September 30, 2021. Newly terminated employees just entering eligibility for COBRA are eligible for the premium assistance, as well as those…
Ever since the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, it has been shown that the number of employers offering domestic partner benefits has significantly decreased. A year before the ruling (2014), a survey reflected that 59% provided benefits to same-sex domestic partners and just one year later (2016), 48% are providing benefits with that number decreasing each year. The reason…
As we get into the health insurance renewal season, there are some smaller, non-ACA mandated businesses (less than 50 FTEs) that may consider dropping their small group health plan all together. An average of 20-30% group rate hikes year after year do take a toll on the bottom line, so it would not be surprising. In lieu of carrying a group health plan, some employers may even decide to simply reimburse their employees a set amount for them to obtain individual coverage, or maybe even pay for the employees individual health insurance costs directly. Unfortunately, 2013 guidance from the IRS…
We carry health insurance for routine ‘maintenance’ and unforeseen events, auto and home insurance for unexpected property losses, but what about protection and assistance with the day to day situations that could require legal assistance? Review of an agreement or contract ♦ securing a mortgage ♦ collecting or settling a debt ♦ credit report issues ♦ probate ♦ bankruptcy ♦ immigration ♦ divorce ♦ preparing a will ♦ traffic citation ♦ marriage ♦ purchasing faulty merchandise/consumer protection ♦ notary services ♦ these are all situations where having an attorney would be of great value, but sometimes the cost can be discouraging from having the much needed legal assistance. Studies have shown that 7 out of 10 people have experienced some sort of legal event in…
Under regulations of Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code, an employer can implement various Plans which allows employees an opportunity to receive certain benefits on a pre-tax basis. In this article, we will look at the Premium Only Plan (POP), where employees can elect to pay their portion of insurance premiums on a pre-tax basis, creating a savings for both the employee and the employer. Setting up a POP is simple and you just need to have a Plan Document and Summary Plan Description in place that describes all benefits and establishes the rules for eligibility and elections. (If…
Effective January 1st, 2018, employers in New York State will be required to offer Paid Family Leave coverage for their workforce. Employer’s should prepare now for this new coverage and can even voluntarily comply and start the coverage earlier. Do not wait until December 31st. New York will become the fourth state requiring family leave coverage, following California, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. This coverage provides wage replacement and job protection to employees who need time off to bond with a new born, adopted, or fostered child, care for a family member with a serious health condition, or assist…
Yesterday, November 18, the IRS issued Notice 2016-70, which extends the due date for the 2016 requirement to furnish ACA-related statements to individuals for insurers, self-insuring employers, and certain other providers of minimum essential coverage under I.R.C. § 6055, and for applicable large employers under I.R.C. § 6056, and extends good-faith transition relief from section 6721 and 6722 penalties to the 2016 information-reporting requirements under sections 6055 and 6056. The due date is extended from January 31st, 2017 to March 2nd, 2017. The notice also provides guidance to individuals who, as a result of these extensions, might not receive a…
On October 6th, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation issued a final order approving a 14.5% increase to its workers’ compensation insurance rates. This increase apples to both new and renewed policies effective in Florida as of December 1st, 2016. On the bright side, this is better news than the proposed increase by the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) of 19.6%. The underlying reason for the majority of this increase is due to a Florida Supreme Court ruling this past April (Castellanos v. Next Door Company) which found the mandatory attorney fee schedule per the Florida Statutes being unconstitutional as a…